Mortdecai (2015)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I couldn't stay the distance with this film. An American actor playing the part of Terry Thomas (or it seems that way to me) but without the charm or authenticity of the original. Johnny Depp is capable of such great things (Ed Wood, The Ninth Gate) but the exagerated facial expressions here are the same as those for Jack Sparrow, and the accent is forced and overcooked. There is simply no humour in this film. It's childish and silly in ways that are neither charming nor clever. It lacks integrity. It's a collection of daft scenes, joined together by hapless, inane dialogue and the undoubted belief that 'because it's Johnny Depp it's automatically great'... it isn't. Neither is it based in any form of 'truth' that the viewer can relate to. Stupid cheese gags, comedic 'moments' with knowing glances and head tosses to add style to the proceedings... but all fall flat. This is comedy that explains itself, that has no subtlety or connection with the tradegy of the human condition.Watch 'Father Ted', 'Steptoe & Son', 'Fawlty Towers', 'Flight of the Conchords'. These are about life, people, the absurdity of the modern world. Mortdecai, in contrast, is a film about nothing, no-one, no place, no time.Gwyneth Paltrow phones it in and Ewan McGregor is wasting his time here. Where does the money come from to write, film and promote this kind of film? There's so much talent out there looking for a break, and yet here we are again with a big star vanity project, missing the mark by a mile.Two out of ten. For me it's a stinker.

Reminded me of Harry Lime, Orson Welle's bungling con-artist and Peter Seller's Pink Panther - lovely flick

Mortdecai is a good movie with a well written plot and a terrific comedic cast. The chemistry between the cast members is without a doubt what makes it so enjoyable for me. Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor all have great individual chemistry with one another, I particularly liked how Depp and Bettany played off each other. They all fit in to this universe very naturally and effectively. The humour did have its weaknesses, it had far too many running gags that it kept going back to, despite not being all that funny in the first place. Particularly the constant jokes about Mortdecai's moustache were quite repetitive. The characters are also underdeveloped, we learn significantly little about them prior to their adventure beginning. I definitely would like to have learned more about Mortdecai and Johanna's marriage, as well as Jock's personal life. It aims to be a very different, unique comedy, it's style and pacing is not typical, while many people will not agree with me, I thought it achieved this. While it is flawed, Mortdecai is great fun and worth the watch if you are looking for a good comedy, just do not go out pf your way to see it. An art dealer rushes to find a valuable painting before it gets in to the wrong hands. Best Performance: Johnny Depp / Worst Performance: Olivia Munn

This is a bad film.I'm 40 minutes into this film, and I know it is bad already, but I will persevere in hope. Nonetheless:The acting is bad; The accents are bad; The characters are bad; The plot is bad; The direction is bad; The screen writing is bad; The comedy is bad; The drama is bad; The cinematography is bad; The editing is bad; The wasted acting talent is bad; The formulaic progression is bad; The twists are bad; The stunts are bad; The effects are bad; The soundtrack is bad; The lack of any redeeming feature is bad.Mortdecai is not a smooth criminal, he's bad.